


Satellites on a Crash Course

by theworldisquiet_here



Category: Gravity Falls, ParaNorman (2012)
Genre: Fluff, Illustrated, M/M, Slow Build, Underage Drinking, illustrations!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2015-06-10
Packaged: 2018-03-26 07:58:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 16,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3843142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theworldisquiet_here/pseuds/theworldisquiet_here
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dipper and Norman tip-toed around each other like two celestial bodies orbiting; Each one thinking they are mere satellites when they are both stars.</p><p>or "Five times Dipper and Norman almost did something about their secret but mutual crush on each other and the one time they actually did do something about it."</p><p>This is a bunch of parapines drabbles that I wrote and then stitched together into one storyline of erratic quality.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. This is Campy.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh man, I've been writing Parapines snippets for MONTHS and it's high time I post SOMETHING. So, I have combined many snippets into a sort of franken-story.

Norman's parents spent more money than they should have to send him to Monster Hunter Summer Camp. they did this with the expectation that he would make some friends. He knew it was likely to be a cheesy two-weeks. The "halloween" theme did not interest most of the kids at this camp, especially the boys in his scavenger hunt group. They were more interested in smoking in the woods when the counselors weren't looking. Norman had begun to lag behind his group. A ghost nearby distracted him. He had been trying to get her to talk to him for two days now but she was shy. He was trying to wait with politeness for her to approach him. When another camper walked into him.

"Oh, jeez, I'm sorry man."

"No worries." The boy looked to be about his age. He looked a bit familiar. Maybe they were in the same cabin? It was a large cabin. "Where's your group?"

"They left me behind." Norman waved the question off the way he had waved his group away.

"Were you going slow?" The boy had a lot of questions to ask.

"No, I think I creep them out."

"Why?"

"I was talking to myself."

"That's pretty normal. But, I guess that weirds some people out. Anyway, they sound like jerks." Norman shrugged. Dipper could hear his group catching up. "You should join my group. I'm here with my sister and her cabin-mates." When it didn't look like this would win the Norman over, they boy whispered, "Please, I'm the only boy in the group!"

Norman gave up a smile, "Okay."

"I'm Dipper." The boy adjusted his trucker hat and held out a hand.

Norman shook it, making a serious face as if accepting a business proposal. "Norman Babcock."

"Good. I think I've got the first three clues. They all suggest that the last clue is in the exact center of them all. And, they were teaching us to use compasses earlier. So, I have triangulated the center on this map." He laid the map on the ground to show Norman.

"Wow you got your compass to work? I can never hold still enough."

"I rested it on a stump." Dipper shrugged.

"That's very resourceful."

"Yeah, believe it or not, I didn't come here for the campy fun. Just the wilderness skills." He marked a spot on the map. "There we go!" They began in that direction after signaling to the group of girls far behind them. "We weren't even signed up to go to camp until last minute. We-" He gestured to the group, "My twin sister Mabel and I- usually spend our summers with our Grunkle Stan in Oregon. But, I guess he got sick of us this year." He laughed a short, sad laugh and Norman felt the need to take charge of the conversation.

"Yeah, I thought this would be pretty cheesy, but my parents thought it would be good for me to get outside more." He took a deep breath, "Yup. I think all this fresh air is putting some hair on my chest."

This made Dipper laugh. It was a good laugh, a contagious one. "Yeah, This hiking is definitely greasing my elbows." They laughed and joked their way to the point marked on the map followed by the gaggle of girls. A small golden trophy sat in a hollowed out log in the spot Dipper had marked.

They celebrated this win with the girls in their group. Mabel insisted that they lift the boys up and sing "We are the champions." She was a fan of loud noises and cheerful attitudes Norman learned.

Dipper insisted that Norman move his bunk to the one below his own. He wasn't entirely sure why; as they didn't sleep that night anyway. Dipper hung his blanket over the bottom bunk and declared this a "blanket fort." Norman surprised Dipper when he said he had never heard of such a thing. Dipper told Norman ridiculous stories about the town of Gravity Falls. He wasn't sure wether Dipper was pulling his leg the whole time. But, he enjoyed the stories each one more unbelievable than the last.

When Dipper asked about Norman's life. Norman told him about his family and his hometown. He told him the fable of the Witch. He couldn't bring himself to say bad things about the little witch he had come to know as Aggie. So, he told Dipper the second part of the story; The truth disguised as an urban legend. ". . . and the Medium told the ghost of the little girl that she was being mean like the people of the town had been to her and she said she was sorry. The medium told her the bedtime story and she moved on in peace."

"I like that." Dipper said. "That old folk tale was so cliché. The new story is more realistic. Plus, that Medium sounds like a cool guy! Like Mulder and Scully. Do you think he was a real guy?"

"I dunno."

"I want to do that. Investigate the paranormal. Talk to ghosts; help them move on."

"Sounds scary."

"You've got to be pretty brave to do it." Dipper sounded wistful.

This humility threw off Norman's train of thought. "Thank you," he mumbled.

"What?"

"I-"

"You said, 'thank you.' " Dipper pointed right in Norman's face while norman stuttered a useless protest. "YOU did all that?! You're that medi-"

Norman smashed his hand down over Dipper's mouth. "No, no, no! shhh! You'll wake all the other guys up." Dipper nodded, his eyes still big.

"That is so cool!"

"No- I'm not- You don't think I'm crazy?"

"No! You're awesome!"

"Well, I guess if you promise you won't tell anyone ever. I'll tell you what really happened. But, you can't tell anyone. They'll put me in shock therapy or something."

"They would?"

"Well, no. My parents know about it; They were there. But, the other guys here will have my head in a toilet faster than you could say say–"

"Do you get picked on a lot?"

"Not so much anymore . . ." Norman told him the story of Blithe Hollow and Aggie: The real story this time. When the tale started to get serious and sad Dipper reached out and held Norman's hand.

Over the course of the week Norman rationalized this hand holding. It must have been because Dipper had a sister that he was close to. Norman didn't have a twin. He and his sister were not close. His mother was kind but, no one had ever reached out to him like that before.

Dipper incessantly insisted that Norman come visit Gravity Falls next summer. It took most of the school year to win Norman over to the idea. But it only took one day to convince his parents; Plane tickets were so cheap, and staying at the Mystery Shack was practically free. Dipper and Mabel themselves won over Norman's mom personally.


	2. A Summery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Norman spends summers with the Pines' twins.

On the way to the airport Dipper had been worrying aloud to Mabel. The possibility of growing apart from his summer-time friend nagged at him. But, when he spotted Norman on the escalator he forgot all the worries. When Norman saw them he waved both his hands and when he realized the crowd on the escalator had trapped him–shrugged to the twins. He wanted to run and hug them, maybe that was too much? Either way, the crowd on the slow moving escalator prevented this. Dipper and Mabel bounced a little while they waited. When the crowded escalator released Norman he jogged toward them. Mabel joined in on their hug.

It was like he was never gone. Dipper and Norman slipped back into sync. Mabel melted into their friendship like butter. Their energy was wildfire. Laughter resounded through their forest walks and late into the nights that made the two weeks go by so fast.

Already Norman's time in Oregon was up. Dipper and Mabel escorted him to the airport. They left him with a hand knit sweater and a hand-written mystery lexicon in exchange for the promise of a longer visit next year.

The trio stayed in contact via skype and Dipper and Norman texted almost all day everyday for the entire year. For a while Norman survived on the idea of writing a podcast/radio show with the twins like sustenance. He and Dipper spent weeks writing ideas and snippets of dialogue via text. The concept often shifted between comedic and serious horror.

Norman was often concerned that Dipper was not as excited as he was. He worried that he was texting too often or talking about the project too much. But, Dipper responded to each idea with enthusiasm. Once in a while Mabel would set up a "skype date" (the phrase made Norman nervous.) where they would stay up late on Saturdays laughing and discussing ideas and plans for this next summer. Next summer Norman was coming to Oregon for a whole month. And, the twins were planning many road trips now that they had an old mini-van.

Norman had his doubts but, the road trips turned out to be the best part of the whole summer. Mabel would always pack a banquet of a picnic. Then they would drive to nowhere and find the best place to sit and eat it. Once they drove to the ocean and had their picnic on a cliff. They climbed down a steep path to the ocean afterward and threw rocks into the sea. It was loud and misty and they discussed filming some spooky horror films here. But in the end Mabel only filmed herself tossing seaweed at the boys and laughing.

They spent one day hiking up a lush mountain and set up their spot on a large boulder. Mabel did cartwheels after dinner and Dipper and Norman sat against the boulder looking out at the view. Dipper fell asleep on Norman's shoulder. Norman pretended to be asleep so he didn't have to move and disturb Dipper.

They spent the day before Norman's departure swimming in the sunshine at the lake. everyone got a sunburn. On the ride to the airport everyone's skin was still red and still warm from the sun the day before. Mabel slept the whole way to the airport. It was a quiet and sad ride. Dipper and Norman spent most of the ride in comfortable silence. Dipper told Norman he was thinking about going college in Oregon. His statement sounded like a question. Norman wasn't sure what to say. After a long silence Dipper asked, "What are you thinking about for college?"

"I don't know." Norman said to the passenger side window of the Pines twins' van, "I don't know if I can even get into any schools."

"You don't think your grades are good enough?"

"They're average."

Dipper continued to press his agenda, "Well, Do you know what you want to do?"

"I have no idea." Norman laughed, "Maybe it would be a good idea to take a year off?"

"Yeah. That's smart. You could take community college classes. Hey!" Dipper continued in a voice that sounded rehearsed, "You could come live in Oregon with me!"

Norman smiled at how practiced the suggestion sounded. Planning was Dipper's way of showing he cared. Norman looked in the rear view mirror; Mabel was smiling; possibly asleep, possibly listening.

"It would be great," Dipper continued, "Grunkle Stan is leaving the shack to me. So, I'll be taking some classes at the local college and some 'classes' from Stan starting next summer." He laughed, nervous. Talking about next summer suggested the end of this one and so they hadn't done it.

Norman knew the ride home wouldn't be fun but, he wasn't sure he could feel happier. He had no plans for college. He had lived all last year on the hope that Dipper and Mabel were waiting there at the end of it. This was better than he could have wished for.

"That sounds fun." Norman looked over at Dipper for the first time in a while and smiled, his face nose and cheeks red from the sunburn. "I think I'll apply to the community college here, too. What's Mabel thinking about doing for college?"

Dipper was having a hard time keeping his smile under control. "I don't know," he turned the radio on and started bouncing around to the first tune he heard. It didn't matter what it was. "Let's wake her up and find out!"

Norman laughed as Dipper started singing along to the pop song in a loud squeaky voice full of poorly disguised joy.


	3. Last summer did not feel like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter before I wrote the previous chapter. It was a feel good stream of conscious about moving away from home and finding a family. It changed a lot since then.

Last summer did not feel like this.

Last summer had been mysterious and adventurous. Now, He was going to leave the place he grew up to live with his best friends on the other side of the country. He was giddy. He spent the week after graduation packing everything into the back of his junky old station wagon. He didn't have to try too hard to fit it all in. He had a rather large suitcase, one large plastic bin, and three small boxes of random junk. It felt nice to have only a few belongings. He felt free. He was leaving Massachusetts and he was never going to come back. He couldn't admit to missing in much.

On the road he chatted to himself or Dipper or Mabel on speaker phone, or sang along to the junk on the radio and enjoyed all the sights. Dipper told him what he had learned about "business" from his Grunkle Stan. Most of it seemed sketchy. Dipper practiced the mystery tour schpeal. He recited it to Norman the first night because Norman decided he was to excited to sleep; He'd rather drive through the night. Dipper had added some of his own jokes to the tour, many of which Norman had to convince him not to use. Norman tried adding in a few and the whole tour got out of hand.

The next day Norman received a video message from Mabel. It was of Dipper giving the tour around the actual museum. It had been recorded that night after they hung up. Half way through Mabel goaded him into talking like the crocodile hunter. Dipper wrestled a taxidermied "Bearclops" and the video ended.

Halfway through his trip he sat at a small town dinner in Idaho. It was too early in the day to call Dipper or Mabel. There was no need to rush. There was no schedule for his arrival. When he got there, he got there. He felt a little bad about ignoring the few ghosts he passed by on his way but he didn't want to spend too much time getting to Oregon. Still, he couldn't ignore the feeling hanging over him. Had he forgotten something at home? It was an unfamiliar looming anxiety. He looked around the diner but he knew that he would affirm no one was looking. The feeling had been looming over him since he left Massachusetts.

He just sat with a cup of hot coffee and a notebook. doodling and writing nonsense. Writing and re-writing words that he liked in a scratchy typewriter font. Doodling was how he had gotten through the last year of high-school. Well, doodling and the promise of a never ending summer in Oregon. He knew it wouldn't be sunny all the time, but the Pines' were summer to him. He wrote the word "evergreen" in his notebook and doodled a pine tree. He laughed to himself about Dipper wrestling the bear in his video. He doodled Dipper and Mabel. No, that didn't look right. Mabel was easy to draw. She was already a character. Dipper was more difficult. He tried again. The waitress returned to fill his coffee and he became embarrassed about how many times he had drawn Dipper. He closed the notebook softly. Last summer did not feel like this.

He pulled into view of the Mystery Shack at the golden hour of sunset. The station wagon's tires crackled on the gravel. His back hurt from sitting still for the last four hours. His shirt was sweaty and sticking to the seat. It was always exciting arriving at the shack. But last summer he didn't feel like he was coming home, this time he did.

Mabel burst through the screen door at the back of the Shack. She ran towards his car, still moving, shouting something. She jumped up and sat on the hood of his car before he stopped. Dipper burst through the door next. He jogged up to the station wagon. Mabel opened the door before he got there and pulled Norman out and into a hug. Dipper latched onto them both. They all hopped around and laughed unashamed. Mabel released their bodies but, held their hands. She propelled them around in a circle still jumping. Dipper took Norman's hand to complete the circle.

Last summer was not like this. Last summer Norman was just visiting. Last summer had been the simple pleasure of friendship. But then, last summer Norman was 17 and shorter than Dipper.


	4. Dipper in a tin foil hat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is frankenstein's monster, If frankenstein's monster was made of a bunch of plot bunnies stitched together.
> 
> Also the plot to this story was inspired by the song 'Something wrong with the daylight here': https://youtu.be/xzC-j9mt29M
> 
>  
> 
> _Whichever coast they'll be room there for ghosts, either way I'll be thinkin' of you_

Mabel walked into the living room holding her cell phone above her head. "Grunkle Stan I've been trying to get connected to the wifi all day what is going on here?"

"Wifi? ha. We've got cable TV what do you need wifi for?" Stan adjusted the rabbit ears on the TV one more time and then whacked the television on the back. The static over the picture stopped and became just a still image of a tree line. "Huh. Any of you kids got a VHS we could put in?"

Norman snorted into his cereal.

Dipper looked up from his. "That's weird. theres always been bad cell reception but we've never had cable trouble here in the years before."

"Oh no. No." Mabel pointed her phone at Dipper. "It always starts out as 'That's odd' and ends with you wearing tin foil hats-"

"I have never worn a tin foil hat!"

"Well, Not this year. No. We are going for a nature walk. No texting, No laptops. Just us and the wilderness and the beauty of nature."

 

* * *

 

 

Five minutes into the silence of the nature walk Dipper started, "That's odd about the T.V. though."

"It's probably just old and broken." Norman tried placating.

"Aw, we could get Stan a nice T.V. that would be a good present." Mabel tried changing the subject.

Dipper waved the idea away. "He would take it to the pawn shop."

"I bet thats how they got all the T.Vs they have now." Norman pointed out.

The laughter caused a suspicious rustling behind them. Aware of the typical fauna in the flora the trio's laughter halted. The next ten minutes of the walk was silence.

"It's going to get hot out." Mabel said staring into the canopy of the sequoias "Do you want to go swim in the lake?"

Norman smiled. "That sounds fun. We should."

Dipper and Mabel looked over "Norman," Mabel commented, "So agreeable this year and vocal! That settles it. Let's go swimming!" She turned on her heel and marched away.

"No, we're West of the Shack." Dipper pulled out a compass. "We need to go-" The needle wobbled in an erratic pattern.

Norman watched him struggle with the compass. Dipper's nose scrunched in confusion and he whacked the compass on a tree. Norman smiled crookedly. Mabel caught his eye. Norman blushed.

"North East." Dipper looked up from the compass and noted Mabel and Norman's looks. "What?" They turned away from each other, trying to hide their expressions. "What?" When Mabel just smiled at him and laughed, a new feeling crept into Dipper's mind. He knew he did seem like the kind of kid to put on a tin foil hat when it came to the supernatural. But, this kind of suspicion was new. Soon, he was thinking back to all the times they had laughed and smiled and wether he had laughed and smiled with them. He tried to recall every time they did something without him and every time Norman blushed (Mabel never blushed). Mabel and Norman were growing close. How close? He started to fall back, pretending to examine the trees while looking at Mabel and Norman out of the corner of his eye. Dipper's thoughts took a sharp turn down this new path. It was a lot to take in.

 

It was a few hours later that Norman made the off-hand comment; "There's something odd about the daylight here." He was drying off in the sun with Dipper and Mabel on the dock at the lake. "It always seems unnaturally violet."

 

Some of the things Norman said had a way of unnerving Dipper. They floated around in Dipper's thoughts repeating themselves. That night he wrote those words at the top of a blank page in his journal. "There's something wrong with the daylight in Gravity Falls." He did some research after that and soon the daylight was creeping into his window. Never had sunshine been so haunting. The thought consumed him for a while. Dawn pulled shadows across the lawn of the mystery shack and Dipper stared into the sky transfixed. What color was the sky supposed to be at this hour? He couldn't recall. Had he ever payed attention to a sunrise before? He was unsure of how well his eyes worked after a night spent staring at books full of physics. He blinked several times and looked away from the window.

 

Mabel sprawled over her bed with her blankets askew. She slept like a rock; A rock hurled toward this bed from outer-space at a frightening speed, and crashed into this crater of sheets and pillows. Norman curled up tense on his own bed, a new addition to the room. Dipper closed the blinds to save him from the harsh daylight and crawled into his own bed. The last thought he had before his eyes closed was how Norman could transfix him and turn his thoughts around.

 

* * *

 

The sound of some metal crashing downstairs woke Dipper. Did he dream that? It would be so easy to ignore it. He rolled over to fall back asleep and noticed that Norman was not in his bed. He rolled the other direction to tell Mabel but her bed was empty, too. No amount of caffeine could wake Dipper Pines as thorough as a mystery could. He sat up straight and examined the room for a sign of struggle.

 

Candy wrappers, comic books, posters and random junk littered the floor. That was normal. Another softer sound came from downstairs. He stood and crept to the doorway. Obscured voices echoed up the stairs. Was that Norman and Mabel? He crept down the stairs to the first floor. A chair squeaked from the dining room. De peaked his head in to look through the living room toward the sound.

 

Mabel and Norman were sitting on the dining room floor with their backs to the doorway. They sat shoulder-to-shoulder with a bowl of cereal beside each of them. Dipper opened his mouth to ask if something was wrong when Norman leaned his head onto Mabel's shoulder. She took his hand in her own. The words caught in Dipper's throat. His brain stopped working, and he ducked back into the shadows of the hallway. What was he panicking about? Nothing too weird was going on here. No monsters. Just, his sister and his friend sitting on the floor of the dining room in the wee hours of the night. He could hear Mabel murmur and he forced himself to listen instead of panic aimlessly.

 

". . . Everything is a little better when you want to share it with someone."

Norman spoke but his voice was too soft to pick-up.

"Okay. But, you have to sleep sometime?"

 

They were going to go back to bed soon, Dipper had to sneak back upstairs before they saw him. He padded up the stairs and climbed back into his sleeping bag. He knew he needed to pretend like he was asleep to not risk embarrassing himself but he couldn't close his eyes. His heart was pounding so heavy that he was certain they could hear him. He rolled away from the other two beds and stared at the wall.

 

That seemed like an awful intimate late night meeting. Mabel had sounded wistful, or romantic, or sad? He wasn't sure. Did Norman confess a crush on her? Did she rebuke him? Norman would have told Dipper if he had a crush on his sister. They were best friends, or so he thought. Maybe he was too embarrassed to talk to dipper about it. Or maybe he had been friends with Dipper just to get closer to Mabel. Mabel was always more sympathetic. She and Norman would work well together: Together, without him.

Dipper's throat closed and he stifled a sob. They still hadn't returned. Involuntary to Dipper an image of them kissing goodnight appeared behind his eyes. His chest collapsed in on itself. He checked to make sure he wasn't stabbed. He was so certain the pain was a real wound. It wouldn't be so bad to be a third wheel to them? He hugged himself and curled up. Closing his eyes to think of other possible scenarios. Dipper drifted off into a fitful sleep before Mabel and Norman returned.

 

Once he dreamed that he was holding Dolls of Norman and Mabel and he was making them kiss. It was awkward, but when he saw his hands they weren't his own. When he went to question this a voice came out of his mouth that was not his own, "You're worrying about the wrong thing Pine Tree!" and the shrill laughter woke him up. He couldn't tell if the echo was only in his head.

 


	5. Meanwhile

Norman sat in the dining room table at 6:05 am with his face in his hands. He tried to organize his thoughts. It had only been one week since he arrived in Oregon. A week since he arrived at his new home. He was ecstatic then. But that wasn't the beginning, was it? He felt the anxiety beginning on the road. He thought he left something behind but that wasn't it. What about the school year? He was anxious, of course. But, he didn't care about exams or grades. He cared about moving. He missed the Pines twins. He missed Dipper. He was anxious when Dipper took a long time to text back. He was anxious about Dipper.

His head hit the table softly.

A soft voice found him in the dining room, "Norman?"

"Mmm Mabel?" He looked up at her.

"I came looking for you. What are you doing up already?"

"I'm just not sleepy."

"You look like you were about to sleep on the table just now." She walked over to the cupboard. "D'you want some cereal?" She took out a spoon. Norman nodded. She took out a second, and then climbed up on the counter to grab some bowls. "Do you want to tell me what's up?"

He sighed, "I've just been-"

Mabel knocked the spoons off the counter with her leg. They rattled on the tile. Norman jumped off his chair to grab the spoons and stop the clatter. "Oops" Mabel whispered.

The noise and the sudden motion jostled Norman's senses. He laughed shakily, holding the spoons to the floor, tears forming in his eyes and he sobbed. Mabel climbed off the counter and onto the floor with him. She didn't say anything she just held him for a moment until he calmed down.

"You know you can talk to me Norman, just talk to me."

"I'm sorry-"

"No sorries necessary."

"I've been so worried." He stopped shaking but didn't elaborate.

"About what Normy, please talk to me." She rubbed his back and sat down next to him.

"About Dipper." He mumbled. She nodded and continued to rub circles in his back. she knew. Of course she knew. She knew before he did. He continued less wary of the subject, "I was so excited to be here and be a part of your family. But I'm going to ruin it."

"You couldn't possibly. We love you Norman. Dipper loves you. No matter what."

"Is this how love's supposed to feel? Anxious and happy and all over the place? I feel like I'm going crazy."

"Love is weird. It can make you anxious if you're worried that Dipper won't return those feelings. But, I know he will, Norman." She smiled and nudged his shoulder with her's. "Love can make you sad, too. I don't think love is any one feeling. I think maybe it's just the awareness that you're attached to someone deeply. It's complex. But, I'm sure he feels the same about you; anxious, and happy. He's probably still confused about it. I know he will come to his senses. It will be a happy ending, I promise." Norman rested his head on her shoulder, and she took his hand in her own. "You should tell him eventually. He'll never figure it out on his own."

"I couldn't it would ruin everything."

"Imagine sharing those worries, those happy and sad moments. Everything is a little better when you want to share it with someone."

"I'll- I'll tell him. If you tell me when he's got it mostly figured out."

"Okay. But, you have to sleep sometime okay?"

 


	6. Food fight?

"Okay kids, what're you having?" Lazy Susan asked the table. Well, most of the table. She had been giving Stan the cold shoulder for years now. His empty coffee mug was proof of this.

"Heya Lazy Susan, I think your clock ran out of batteries." He pointed at the clock on the wall to try and get some attention. It read 9:00. It was 11:13.

"Hm." She continued to look at her notepad.

"I'll have the pancakes, Mz. Susan." Mabel closed her menu and handed it over. "Dipper will also have pancakes, and Norman will have waffles." Lazy Susan walked away without writing anything down.

"Hey," Dipper started. "What if I wanted something else this time?"

"You always want waffles." Norman picked up the little bucket full of creamers and started taking them out one at a time.

Stan took his empty mug over to the counter.

"What if I wanted coffee?" Dipper crossed his arms.

"Pah. You don't need coffee." Mabel took a handful of the creamer cups and she and Norman started flicking them at the little bucket. It was a game they invented to pass the time until the food came. Mabel was good at it. Norman was not; His creamer cups ended up skidding across the table and into Dipper's lap.

"I could start drinking coffee." Dipper picked up the cups.

"Apparently nobody's getting coffee." Stan grumbled, returning to the table. "Coffee machine's broke today."

Dipper lined up a shot. Norman flicked his last creamer cup towards the bucket. It bounced off the edge, smacked Dipper in the forehead, and broke open and dripping all over his hair.

Norman brought his hands up over his mouth. "Sorry," he whispered between his fingers. Mabel cackled. Dipper looked up through his dripping bangs with an evil smile on his face. He whacked his creamer with as much force as he could manage. It shot across the table cracking open between Norman's arms and splashing down his shirt.

"Oooo hoo hoo!" Mabel was giddy.

Norman lowered his hands and wiped off his shirt. "I suppose I deserved that."

"Aw, I thought we were gonna have a food fight." Dejected, Mabel flicked her last creamer into the tipped over bucket. It spun around.

"We don't have any food yet." Dipper lifted his hat up and blotted his hair with a napkin. He crumpled the Napkin and threw it at Norman. Norman tried to catch it and failed. Mabel was a giggling mess. Norman leaned under the table to find the napkin so he could clean off his shirt.

It was gross under there. There was not just gum stuck under the table but half a fuzzy sandwich had made a home under Dipper and Stan's bench. He immediately regretted his decision. There were more napkins on the table. He turned around to go back above the table when he noticed one of the pieces of gum blinking. He stared at it for a second willing it to light up again and affirm he was not going crazy. It blinked again and he began to peel it off the ancient MDF board that held the table together.

"uh, Norman?" Mabel leaned under to see what he was doing. "Ew, Norm I have gum in my purse you don't need that."

"No, Mabel it's not the gum."

"What's goin' on down here?" Dipper asked, sounding dejected.

"Norman's stealing gum"

"I'm not after ABC gum!" Norman protested peeling the chunk away finally. He whacked his head on the way up. "There's something on it." Up top, he started to chip away at the gum with his spoon when the gum blinked again.

"Oh my god." Dipper's eyes were larger than the Diner's 'Hungree Man Dinner' plates.

Norman continued to chop at the fossilized chewing gum. His spoon slipped and he chopped the lump into thirds.

"Careful!" Dipper warned much too late.

The air started humming. Dipper and Norman leaned in to inspect the minuscule technology he had found. Stan pretended to sip at his empty coffee mug. Mabel looked around the diner.

"What the dump-truck is going on?" The hum in the air turned out to be the jukebox. Stray Cat Strut started to play and Dipper and Norman looked up. The clock began ticking. The coffee machine hissed on, dripping hot water onto the hot plate.

"Well, the John's probably working, then." Stan left for the bathroom.

Lazy Susan laughed through her nose. "I forgot why I came over here," She said to the half-rolled pile of silverware on the counter.

"Ah, I hate when that happens." Mabel confided with her to clear some of the tension. "I do that _almost every_ time I walk into the kitchen." She looked around at the table. Dipper was mumbling to himself. Norman was staring around, incredulous. "Norman, what's going on? It looks like you've just seen a ghost." She elbowed him in the side with a grin. Dipper looked up at Norman slowly.

"I am." Norman whispered, "I haven't seen any in weeks, in fact. I've been so distracted. I didn't even realize."

"There haven't been any gnomes, or monsters around, anywhere." Dipper looked down at the tiny crumb of technology. "What was that thing?"

Dipper started mumbling to himself and stared out the window. Lazy Susan brought their food. Mabel ate a whole hotcake in one bite. Norman picked at his waffles a bit. Dipper stood up quick, bumping the table. "McGucket!" He shouted and leapt from the table exiting the restaurant in two long steps. Norman stood up to follow. But Mabel wasn't going to get up. She shrugged at him. He put a foot up onto the table.

"Ohmmgah, Normum" Mabel said with her mouth full, leaning away from him. When it seemed the table wouldn't crash under him he jumped on and over it and followed Dipper out the door.

He was standing next to McGucket who looked too old to be on all fours. "It was a high whistlin' noise like a kettle what kept me outta town for -mmm- 'bout a month now. All o' my technology was goin' haywire. I reckon' it's an EMP somebody planted but I ain't been able to get close enough to town to find out! Plus, my raccoon-wife's been on the lamb since-"

Dipper saw Norman approaching. "I'll fix this," he assured McGucket and left him to ramble.

"What's an EMP?" Norman asked as Dipper walked up to him.

"An electromagnetic pulse. It explains a lot, doesn't it?" Dipper continued walking away from the Diner.

"No." Norman pursued, "In fact, it raises more questions than anything."

Dipper smiled a wide grin back at Norman. It was infectious. It infected his lips, and his brain, and he was certain it caused the tempest in his stomach.

"Okay." Norman was grinning back at him full force, "So, what are we going to do about it?"

"We're going to find all those little things," Dipper was not looking where he was going. He was trying to sound adventurous. "and destroy them." He tripped over a 4" x 4" that marked the edge of the parking lot.

Norman grabbed him by the arm so he didn't fall in the dirt.

"And- and we're gonna start at the Shack!" Dipper finished lamely. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually like this chapter.


	7. Super Serious Paranormal Investigators

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was originally just Dipper and Normy hanging out at the Mall drabble and Norman was a real wise guy in it. He was too cute and funny! I couldn't change him back and so he's lovably OOC now.

Dipper took the stud finder from Soos' work shed. He removed two rare earth magnets from the back of knick-knacks in the Gift Shop, and stole the Ham radio from Mabel's suitcase. He proceeded to pull these things apart and rewire them. Norman wondered if Dipper actually knew how electronics worked.

"Were you in robotics at school?" He asked.

"No. They kicked me out." Dipper admitted while whacking the Ham radio's back panel back on.

"Oh," Norman tried not to laugh. "Okay and, uh, _where_ does Mabel keep the first aid kit?"

Dipper looked over at him through lowered eyebrows. It was hard to keep eye contact with Dipper these days. Norman watched him put the batteries back in the stud finder, turn it on, and hand the Ham radio over all while continuing to glare at him. Norman glanced back up and took in his brown-eyed stare with a smile that he hoped looked wry and not smitten.

"Follow me." Dipper contended.

Dipper proceeded to run the stud finder over all the walls in the Shack and then the floorboards and the larger appliances. Soon the Ham radio stopped buzzing. He clicked on the T.V. A daytime drama was playing in black and white.

Norman checked his phone for service. "Three bars."

"Yeah, that's more than I usually get."

They searched half of the town that day.

The next day they started on the nearby shopping mall. Mabel tagged along to "help." But, after she asked the security guard for permission to search the area for bugs she got distracted by a toy store.

Norman leaned up against a wall in the entrance of a shoe store with the ham radio balanced on his head. It was emitting a soft buzzing. "It sounds nearby but I don't think it's in here, Dip." Norman said into the mic of the radio. He was starting to get bored of holding the thing. He started to stalk Dipper. "Dipper Pines paranormal investigator, searches the local shopping mall for signs of the supernatural." He narrated in a poor english accent, "He's looking closely at a pair of flip flops searching for the answers to the universe."

Dipper bit his lip to keep from laughing. "This is serious." He asserted holding in a laugh.

" 'This is serious,' the investigator mumbles to himself." Norman crouched down behind where Dipper was squatting. "He's spent the last few days exploring the natural wonders of the Mall looking for any clues that might- "

Dipper leapt and tackled Norman around the waist. Surprised, Norman toppled backwards onto his back. With one arm trapped under Norman and the other clutching the disconnected microphone, Dipper cackled. Norman was laughing between each muttered 'ouch'. Both boys were rolling on the ground when the two employees of the store walked up and asked them to "please leave." They were still laughing, tears in their eyes when they walked up to the next shop.

"Oh, I hurt," Norman clutched at his stomach, "from falling and laughing."

"Ugh, this is the next shop?" Dipper pinched his nose. They stopped in front of a clothing store wafting with a strong scent of teenage body spray. "We can skip this one."

"No, no, no." Norman nudged him, "This is the perfect hiding spot. It's dark, it smells awful, and the employees are too egotistical to notice someone bugging the place."

Dipper held up the stud finder and the ham radio buzzed. He looked back disappointed, but walked in anyway.

The employees behind the surfboard counter bobbing their heads to the store music didn't notice them enter. Every shirt had the store name in big block letters across the front.

"I feel uncomfortable here." Dipper said.

"You fit in, though." Norman gestured to a poster of a tan muscular teenager wearing a less raggedy version of dipper's flannel shirt. Only, the model's shirt was open and it had the store logo on it as well.

Dipper mocked his pose and puffed out his chest. "Yeah, I work out."

Norman doubled over laughing, "Ow, ow."

Dipper started to scan the area with the stud finder. Occasionally he struck a pose in front of one of the posters.

Norman said off-handed, "You'd better try that on before you buy it," and pointed at a speedo with the brand's name on it. Dipper rolled his eyes and turned away to hide his reddening face.

They found the bug taped to the bottom of a bin filled with scarves. Finding Mabel was another story. 

* * *

"They look like little roaches," Mabel expressed to Dipper. He picked apart the small bugs with tweezers and a magnifying glass. When not broken into bits the bugs were 3 mm long and shaped like actual beetles with six legs and two antennae. "Where do you think they came from?" She needled.

Dipper shrugged.

Mabel spun around in the office chair she had brought upstairs and called out, "Hey, Norman! Come do that thing where you narrate Dipper's life. I missed it!"

"He's talking to some of the deceased in he yard." Dipper mumbled.

Mabel spun back around. "Aw, well it sounds like you two had fun on your date."

The tweezers Dipper was holding sprang out of his hand and the small bug flew across the room.

"Wow Dipper! Denial is not just a river in-"

"That was unrelated." He said calmly before turning to look for the bug. "It jumped!" He got on all fours and spotted it on the ground, "Oh, my god Mabel, look." A single shard of familiar blue glowing rock peaked out from the debris that was once a bug.

"Gideon." They whispered in unison.

"Wow." Norman said from the doorway. "That was weird. What did I just walk in on?"

Dipper stood up and grabbed Norman by the shoulders, "Gideon," he paused.

"Yeah, that's still just weird." Norman said. Mabel snorted.

"Gideon," Dipper continued, "He tried to kidnap Mabel, and steal the mystery shack? We told you about this."

"Giant robot Dipper punched in the face." Mabel interjected.

"Oh," Norman said, "Gideon."

"He's incarcerated, " Dipper stated. "He shouldn't have been able to bug the town."

"Why did he bug the town?" Norman was still unsure of his standing in this issue. Gideon was not his personal nemesis.

Dipper shrugged. "Should we go to the jail and ask him what he's doing?" Dipper wondered.

"Please, no." Mabel dreaded. "I don't want to look at his widdle ol' face ever again."

"We could just wait." Norman suggested. "Maybe the bugs were an integral part of his plan? Maybe nothing will happen now that we've destroyed them?" He postulated. "Maybe he's in jail and desperate and he was really thinking this would work. Or, he hoped we would find them and come in and interrogate him and its all a trap?"

"That's super reasonable." Mabel nodded.


	8. Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some underage drinking in this chapter! (they're 18!)

 

Waiting to see what happened with the EMP bugs yielded no interesting results. Norman and Mabel thought this was great, Dipper not so much. He was only getting more fidgety and anxious as July came to a close. Norman's birthday was approaching and Mabel had made plans for the evening.

"She's probably going to make a giant cake." Dipper had said. But Mabel's hints insisted this plan would help with Dipper's anxieties. Norman wasn't sure cake would do that.

Mabel was sitting on a tall stool behind a mic singing her ukelele cover of Remix to Ignition and everyone in the bar was having a good laugh.

Their table received a round of shots for the good humor Mabel produced in the bar. Nobody cared that they were all underage. Dipper shot his Whiskey back and felt the burn run down into his chest. Norman sipped his whiskey and felt the warmth go straight to his cheeks. He had been peeking over his glass at Dipper all night. It wasn't hard. He sat with Dipper between himself and the stage. Their seating arrangement was a rare pleasure; He could stare at Dipper all night and no one would know. Dipper's face, turned halfway away, glowed in the light of an errant red stage lamp. If he turned back to say something to Norman, it would just look like he was looking at the stage. So, Norman observed him unabashed. He had a perfect view of the dimple in his cheek and his eyelashes; which blinked slower after each drink. Dipper chuckled and sometimes sang along to Mabel's songs.

Norman zoned out. He wasn't sure for how long but when he snapped out of it Mabel was onto a new song. A Queen cover. A crowd pleaser. The mood was perfect. Norman found himself thinking over and over "This is the best birthday I've ever had."

* * *

 

The boys climbed up to the rooftop. Which was dangerous after their countless rounds of drinks provided by Mabel's many admirers.

"I thought for sure she was going to make you a seven layer cake or something." Dipper stumbled over the roof and his words.

"Yeah, me too." Norman said as Dipper grabbed his hand and pulled him up on the rooftop. Norman stood, "Where is my cake!" He insisted, joking. But, he couldn't keep his balance and came down on his free hand. Dipper kept a tight hold on his other hand. This fact, did not go unnoticed by Norman.

"She'll probably make one for no reason later this week." Dipper shrugged, pulling Norman up and over the apex of the roof.

Norman laughed, "Yeah you remember the 'Pigiversary' cake?"

"Oh god." Dipper slid down the three feet to the balcony. He waited with his arm up to support Norman who had sat down on the roof.

Norman scooted down the slope, carefully. "I don't even like cake that much." He admitted when his feet met with the balcony. Norman stood and Dipper let go of his hand. He couldn't hold in a disappointed hum.

"I'm sorry Mabel dragged you to her Open Mic show on your birthday." Dipper sat in the rusty left lawn chair that was stuck in the reclining pose.

Norman got the newer lawn chair, and set it back to look up at the cloudless night sky. "No! It was fun."

"Really?" Dipper tilted an eyebrow towards Norman in a smooth motion that is only achievable when inebriated.

"Yes, really." Norman looked up at the stars and breathed in the cool Oregon night air. "I found myself thinking; 'This is the best day ever.' Over and over. I wanted to commit every moment to memory. Plus, she got us all those drinks and drove us home."

"The best day ever, huh?" Dipper looked back up at the night.

"Yup. It's cheesy, I know, but it really was." Drunk Norman was honest.

"And is this a perfect way to end the day?"

"I couldn't think of a better way." Norman wasn't sure he could stop him mouth from saying every little thought his brain had. So, he stared at the sky to keep his thoughts from embarrassing himself.

"Well, then I will wait until after midnight to do anything crazy. " Dipper put his hands behind his head.

Norman shook his head, Dipper was a silly drunk. "Midnight was hours ago, Dipper."

"Oh, well, then I better do something crazy!" Dipper jumped out of his lawn chair - which looked in danger of falling off the roof- and bounced onto Norman's chair. He sat on Norman's legs, unstable. He grabbed Norman's arm for support. But, he still tumbled backwards off that lawn chair. He rolled backwards, away from the edge of the rooftop, pulling Norman and his chair over with him. Norman caught himself on the slope of the roof and stopped himself, and his chair from landing on Dipper.

Dipper was cracking up.

Norman laughed despite his uncontrollable heart racing, "What on earth were you trying to do?"

Dipper looked up at Norman hovering above him, "Ah, it was nothing." He laughed, and his cheeks darkened. "I don't even know."

 


	9. For a smart kid Dipper sure does a lot of dumb stuff.

Norman woke up on the roof with a headache. Mabel brought him a strange milky concoction for breakfast. The smell didn't make him feel sick so he sipped it. It tasted good.

"What is this?"

"Slim fast, an egg, and Pepto." Mabel was sitting in the lawn chair Dipper had occupied last night. "It will help you with your hangover."

"Dipper up already?" He gestured with the glass at the chair before finishing the drink.

"Yeah, he left." Mabel sounded serious. "He said something funny before he left and I'm a little worried." Norman lowered the glass. "Well, he didn't say it so much as muttered under his breath about Gideon and . . . then he left."

Norman stood up. "We have to go after him! It could be a trap."

"I think he has to do this."

"So, what do we do just sit around and wait for him to come back?"

"Aw, you're so worried about him."

"Mabel," Norman stared her down, "What if he doesn't come back?"

"We're not just gonna sit here," Mabel patted his arm, "We're gonna follow him like the creepy stalkers that we are."

Norman waited for Mabel by his station wagon. She came out of the house in a sunhat, and sunglasses with a scarf covering her mouth.

"You look completely conspicuous."

"Psh. This is a great disguise." She pulled another pair of sunglasses out of her purse and handed them to Norman before giving him his keys.

Mabel sang along to the radio on their drive to the county jail.

Norman was tapping his hand on the steering wheel anxious, when he took a moment to remember yesterday. "I think Dipper was going to try to kiss me yesterday."

"Ooo," Mabel stopped singing.

"I'm glad he didn't." Norman kept his eyes on the road. He couldn't look at Mabel she was too silly about all this. "He was drunk."

"That's good, though. That means he's been seriously considering some things." Mabel wiggled in her seat. "I think I'll have a talk with him"

"Mabel don't-"

"A subtle talk." She winked at him.

Dipper's van was out front. Norman pictured him getting out, and stomping towards the building with a purpose. He knew the way he would walk. Norman considered that he had been watching Dipper a little too much if he could see him so clear in his imagination.

"So, we just sit out here and wait?" Norman tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

"For a bit, yeah." Mabel pulled out an opera spyglass and put her feet up on the dashboard.

A moment later a sparkling blue mushroom cloud of dust erupted from the side of the prison.

"We can go in now!" Mabel shouted as she unbuckled herself. Norman leapt from the car. Mabel didn't hear his door open or close. 'Did he jump through the window?' was all she could process as they raced toward the explosion. A surprisingly small chunk of the building was missing. Two security guards raced into the woods away from the building.

"Dipper?" Mabel called into the hole in the wall as they approached.

Norman hopped over some debris. Another security guard approached from inside the building.

"Back away!" The guard ordered Norman holding her hand out in a halting gesture.

"My friend was in there." Norman backed away hands halfway up, breathing heavy. "D-dipper Pines."

"Take it around front." She pointed to the door of the building.

"Yes ma'am." Norman backed up and jogged for the door. Mabel was already headed that way.

Inside a receptionist was on the phone with 911. Mabel waited for her to finish.

"My brother was in there." She said to the receptionist.

"A prisoner or visiting?" The receptionist looked confused.

"Visiting."

"Okay you both need to sign in if you're going in there." She put a clipboard up on the counter, "and we'll have to take your photo." She gestured to a camera.

The monotone bureaucracy of this emergency was making Norman dizzy. He was breathing to fast. It was making everything feel unreal. He shut his eyes and for an instant saw Gideon in the woods. He snapped his eyes open again. Mabel was signing their names. Was that a vision? He shut his eyes tight.

Gideon ran through the woods. Dipper was no where in sight. Gideon smiled and kept running, and then Norman just saw the inside of his eyelids. "Nooo," he mumbled.

"What, Norman?" She pulled him in front of the camera. She smiled for the flash.

"I had a vision." The receptionist waved them through the doors. "But it wasn't very helpful." Another Security guard beyond the door waved them through.

On the inside of the wall with the hole in it there was a wide room. It was once white but was currently covered in a blue powder. Two round tables sat upright and one sat toppled over. Dipper was not there. There was one security guard holding his head and another looking over him.

"What did you see?" Mabel asked.

"Just Gideon running away and then it ended."

"Where's Dipper?" she looked around.

"The kid in the hat that came to talk to lil' Gideon?" The security guard on the ground looked up. "He brought in contraband. That lil' monster smashed it with the kid's hand and they both disappeared into the blue dust."

"But Dipper wasn't out there." Norman said to himself.

"He didn't mean for this to happen!" Mabel pleaded to the security guard.

"I know he's the kid that brought Gideon in. I don't think he was trying to break him out." The security guard said. "Besides we've been screening his mail and stopped him from sending threats to that kid's address a few times."

"Ew." Mabel said.

"Should we search the woods?" Norman asked. he was at a loss for what to do. Helplessness was making him anxious and light headed again. He shut his eyes hopeful but, he didn't see anything of use.

They had no luck combing through the woods. The police turned up to search with them. The sun went down and the police told them to go home. Get some rest.

* * *

 

Norman and Mabel walked into the attic bedroom in silence. Norman shut the door behind them. When he turned back to Mabel she was staring at Dipper's bed hugging herself. He had never seen her look so not peppy. He even dared apply the word sad to the rambunctious young woman. Norman looked at the bed, too. One of the numbered journals sat a top an unfolded brown blanket, rumpled green sheets and a sad, flat, off-white pillow. The pillow looked as sad as Mabel. Norman sad on the bed picked up the pillow. He held it to his chest. This made Mabel begin to cry. She knocked Norman over with a hug and they both lay on Dipper's bed. For a long while Norman let tears run their silent course before falling asleep for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think that drink is actually good for hangovers. I don't think Mabel has ever been hung over.
> 
> Omg. guys I'm writing chapter 12 right now and I just want to post everything all at once! I'm so excited for all of you who get to read this later.


	10. "We could just wait . . ."

A sharp voice called out to him in his sleep over the serene darkness.

_I know you can see me._

A flash of Gideon running through the forest and then darkness.

_You have something we want._

Mabel and his security photo came into his vision.

_Bring it to me and we will talk._

And then the photo became a view of the the island in the middle of the Gravity Falls lake. It was from his memory. That day they laid out in the sun to dry. The day he said there was something wrong with the sky. The day Dipper started to investigate. He felt guilt and woke up slow.

Mabel was still holding him. He was still holding Dipper's pillow. He shook her shoulder.

"Mabel, I had a vision." She sighed and opened her eyes. They looked raw. He proceeded to tell her about the vision. She nodded.

"Let's have some breakfast and go to the lake." She sounded exhausted. It was a reasonable suggestion. He hadn't eaten anything yesterday besides Mabel's strange hangover cure. She made some eggs and bacon. Norman started a pot of coffee and did some dishes.

The ride to the lake was quiet. When they put a rowboat into the lake there was a family setting up a picnic. Mabel watched hem as they launched the boat off the shore.

"What's it's like to not be a twin?" Mabel spoke as she helped row.

"I suppose it's lonelier." Norman offered.

"I feel really alone," Mabel said and looked at him through glassy eyes.

"I'm-I'm sure he's fine." Norman looked at the floorboards of the boat and rowed a little faster.

The island was cold and misty. It was underneath the waterfall. About twenty paces into the tree line Gideon stepped out from behind a medium sized rock.

"Gideon." Mabel stepped up, "Gimme back my bro in healthy working condition or I will punt you into the moon."

"Oh Mabel darlin' don't you know I would never lay a finger on that greasy silme-ball you call family."

"Careful Gideon if you have a crush on me, Dipper and I share the same genes and-"

"Hey Mabel!" Dipper approached from the same direction as Gideon had.

Mabel put down the finger with which she was scolding Gideon. "Who is that? Is that the shape shifter? That is not Dipper."

Norman knew she was right. Dipper walked so different. He almost never put his hands in his pockets when he stood still. And, he never looked so . . . not anxious?

"The shape shifter?" Dipper said, his voice sounded smooth, serene. "He's an un sophisticated elastic lump. His power limited by only what he has observed. Which, considering that he's lived in a basement his whole life, is limited."

"Bill." Mabel whispered. "I've chased you out of here before and I am not afraid to do it again."

"That's okay Shooting Star I was just leaving. This body is weak and limiting" He held up Dipper's hands. "We came here to trade right?"

"I'm not going anywhere with you." She snarled.

"Oh, no darlin' you're going with me." Gideon giggled.

"And, _I_ am going with _him_." Bill pointed with Dipper's hands at Norman. Dipper went limp. Norman felt himself slide backwards in his own mind. Bill pushed him back.

He saw Dipper fall lifeless to the ground and he panicked.

Bill's shrill voice spoke to him as his vision started to turn green.

_Oh ho ho yes. Let's put this body into overdrive!_

Norman felt his fingers spark but they felt like they were farther away than usual. He heard Mabel call out as if she was in a separate room. His thoughts whispered into his ear; anger, greif.

_Where's the controls for this thing? He heard Bill say out loud and inside his head._

"NO." His thoughts were no longer whispers. Every part of him chorused: "NO." It was deafening.

_What's goin' on in here?_

"NO." They chanted back at him.

_I brought you here, and so help me, I will put you back._

Bill fished up visions of the Summer camp pamphlet that came in the mail from his memory.

Norman was lit up inside and out with ethereal electricity. He screamed, and sparked, and the sourceless power flowed inside him. Everything was green and buzzing. Static hummed inside his mind so loud he couldn't hear himself.

Then, a soothing blackness took over for long, long time.

* * *

 

 

Norman woke up in the backseat of his Station Wagon. Mabel was still driving. He could make out the edge of Dipper's body in the passenger seat. Mabel was sobbing as she drove.

"Is he okay?" Norman muttered, his mouth tasted like static. Mabel slammed on the breaks.

"Norman!" she pulled over, and patted his face. "Oh thank god, you're you."

"Yeah, is-" He sat up to look at Dipper. "is he?"

"He wasn't breathing but you shocked us all-"

"Oh, god I'm so sorry."

"No!" She was frantic. "No, you knocked out Gideon and I think you started Dipper's heart. I put you both in the boat and brought you to the car. I called the cops too. I lost my phone in the lake and I-" she went wide eyes. "I've got to take Dipper to the hospital." She turned back and put the car into drive.

Norman placed a hand on her shoulder. The digital radio he had installed when the car was new to him was buzzing quietly. The clock read 11:40. It wasn't even noon.

Norman helped carry Dipper into the Hospital when they arrived.

 


	11. I'm fine if you're fine.

The Nurse Practitioner brought Mabel and Norman to Dipper's room. "He was dehydrated. But, other wise normal. We got him conscious, he had no idea why he was here. He's on intravenous for some stability and he's gonna be fine. But, we would like to observe him overnight just in case." She informed them and left them to stare at Dipper while he slept. 

Mabel smoothed out his hair. "You dork." She whispered to him.

Norman rubbed his hand over his face and rested his head on the edge of the bed.

The next thing he knew someone was tapping him on the head.

"Norman? Norman." It was dark out. Mabel was gone. Dipper was awake and looked okay. Confused, but okay. "What happened?"

Norman cleared his throat. He wasn't sleepy when he sat his head down. Why was he exhausted now? "You went to confront Gideon." 

Dipper handed Norman the glass of water that Mabel had left. "Yeah I remember that. I-" He lowered his head and stopped looking confused. "I talked to Mabel while you were asleep." He spoke quietly.

"Did she fill you in?" Norman rubbed his eyes and put the water down.

"Yeah, a-are you okay?" Dipper asked.

"I'm fine if you're fine?" Norman smiled.

Dipper patted himself. "I think I'm okay." Dipper continued to look at his hands for a while. "You saved me. Thank you."

"Oh- no-" Norman waved the thank you away but his hands were shaking. "Anyone would've. I was just-"

"Norman," Dipper continued to look at his hands. 

Norman still protested, "-It wasn't really a big deal-" 

"Norman." Dipper looked him in the eyes. His cheeks gained some color. "Stop. I just said thank you. I'll try and return the favor if it ever comes down to it."

Norman laughed sadly at that. "Knowing us it probably will." He gripped Dipper's blanket a little tighter with both his hands.

Dipper patted his left hand and let it rest there. "Don't worry."

Norman felt the weight of Dipper's hand. He knew his ears were turning red. He could hear his heartbeat in them.

"So, I talked to Mabel. . . " He didn't say anything else. He was trying to gauge Norman's reaction.

Norman asked, "About what?" He could feel all the blood in his ears making him blush. 

"You talked to Mabel, too." Dipper said. 

Norman nodded, "I talked to Mabel, too." He couldn't look Dipper in the eye. Norman knew he was failing spectacularly at being inconspicuous.

Dipper lifted the Norman's fingers from the blanket, and knit them with his own. He pressed his fingertips on the back Norman's hand, pushing their palms together tightly. 

Norman gripped Dipper's hand. He couldn't look away from it for a long time. His heart was beating in his throat and eardrums.

Dipper lifted Norman's hand up with his own. Norman looked up with them. Dipper held his hand up to his lips and pressed his lips to it. He finally caught Norman's eye. Norman wasn't sure he knew how to blink anymore. Dipper just smiled and set his hand down.

Norman laid his head on the blanket and stared at their hands. He fell asleep with a smile on his face. Dipper watched him.

Mabel walked in with two coffees. She took two normal steps into the room, and then she spotted their hands. She did a strange little jig and cackled. Dipper shushed her. She continued to smile and dance all the way back to her seat.

Mabel put the coffees down, sat in her seat and mouthed, "Called it." She pointed at herself with both her thumbs.

"Shut up." Dipper whispered.

She mouthed, "What? I'm not saying anything?" She wiggled her shoulders in a little dance.

Dipper turned away to look at Norman again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Does a strange little jig and cackles*


	12. Back to the daily grind

When they got home Stan was working the Shack register himself. He pointed at Dipper's hospital band. "Don't think thats getting you out of work." Stan set everyone immediately on a task. The annual summer party was this weekend. They were going to be busy. No one was sad about this. They all seemed no worse for the wear of having just narrowly escaped death. 

Mabel was set to work in the kitchen where putting glitter on posters. Dipper on the roof tried to help Soos to put the S back on the mystery shack sign. Norman helped Wendy in the gift shop. He restocked and answered the customer's questions with enthusiasm. Once he even caught a snow globe with his foot before it hit the ground. He laughed openly and hummed while rearranging the T-shirts in order by size. 

After work Stan dispersed them around town to hang up posters. They returned to the Shack after night fall and they were all exhausted. 

Cleaning repairs and poster duties went on all day Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Norman and Dipper only saw each other briefly for breakfast lunch and dinner where Stan and Mabel joined them. Norman became more exhausted each day. 

When he slept he never felt like he was resting. He kept dreaming about that day he met Dipper. Only each action seemed forced. Once he looked up and saw strings pulling Dipper around. But, trying to see where the strings went made him dizzy and he woke up. 

Friday morning consisted of decorating and cleaning the Shack. Norman kept thinking about his dream. But, both boys were of the same mindset and finished their work as fast as they could. 

"Well, I think that's it for the streamers." Dipper took down the ladder. 

"Yeah, I think the floor is clean." Norman dropped the mop. "Better put this away." He said hinting. He picked up the bucket and headed to the janitor closet. 

"Yeah, me too." Dipper followed him to the closet. He placed the ladder up on it's hooks. 

Norman slopped the mop water into the floor drain. They turned to look at each other and smiled. Dipper had grown taller than Norman in the last year. But, with Norman's hair they came out about even. 

"Busy week." Norman said. For a moment he worried that this awkward silence was exactly the thing that would destroy their friendship. Then, Dipper took his hand in his own. They smiled at each other. 

"Yeah, busy." Dipper breathed as he stepped forward and pulled Norman into a hug. 

Norman didn't realize that he needed to be close to Dipper. He pressed his face into Dipper's shoulder. Dipper's shirt needed washing but it smelled like him. Norman never knew he recognized what Dipper smelled like until he had a concentrated dose of him. 

Dipper leaned back and looked down at Norman though half lidded eyes. 

"Hey dudes, I just need this card table to put my DJ stuff on." Soos walked in, and they jumped to opposite sides of the room. Norman went pink. Dipper clutched at his chest. "Ha Ha, You dudes looks like you've seen a ghost. Ha, ha ha." Soos laughed at his own joke and tried to pick up the old folded table. "Such a good joke. You dudes want to help me carry this?" 

Dipper picked up the other end of the table without a word and Norman grabbed the middle. They brought it out into the room where the dancing would happen. Mabel was adding songs to the karaoke machine wearing a sparkling top. Stan was affixing a new laser light to the ceiling. "You two are on ticket duty." He pointed his screwdriver at Dipper and Norman. 

Outside Candy and Grenda were already waiting at the empty table. 

"Party doesn't start for another ten minutes, girls." 

Candy pointed her money at Dipper. "Don't give me that baloney." 

Grenda slammed her money on the table and they went inside. "Mabel needs us to help rig the karaoke machine on her favor!" 

Dipper sat down at the table and pushed out the other chair for Norman. "This shouldn't take to long. Maybe after everyone is inside we could . . . " He shrugged. Dance? Go up to the roof? 

"Put this table back in that closet?" Norman suggested. Dipper smiled. More people arrived.


	13. Bonfire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOohohohohoho.

When the ticket line died down Dipper looked around for an out. It had started to get dark out and the Shack was reaching maximum occupancy.

"Dipper!" Stan called from inside.

"I'm not here." Dipper whispered before trying to hide under the table.

"What are you doing?" Stan called from the porch of the Mystery Shack.

"I need you to start the bon fire. You've got some scary stories to spook the kids right?"

Dipper groaned after Stan went back inside. "Sorry."

"Hey don't shirk your duties." Norman said as they walked around the side of the building. "You're the next Mystery Hack you know."

Out back there was a fire pit and a large pile of logs. Dipper set to work.

"Do you have some good ghost stories?" Norman asked piling some sticks and dry leaves between the two logs in the fire pit.

"Um," Dipper set one log on top of two others. "Just one."

"Does it involve a guy with a hook for a hand?"

"How did you-?"

"I'll tell the ghost stories." Norman went in search of kindling while Dipper started what they had with a few matches. When Norman returned there were logs set up as seats and the fire was crackling away. A few people had come out already and Mabel had brought marshmallows. People had taken the seats nearest Dipper. So, Norman pulled up a new log to sit nearby with Mabel and her friends.

"I heard you had some good ghost stories Norman." Grenda boomed.

A murmur went around the fire. Norman looked from Dipper to Mabel.

Mabel shrugged with her cheeks full of unroasted marshmallows. "Gib the peoble what they wan' Normam!" she asserted though her food.

"Alright," Norman sat on a log, and began telling stories.

He never realized how many he had. Everyone who came outside was rapt. After the fifth he insisted someone else tell a story. Everyone had a ghost story to tell. Most of them sounded like tall tales. Dipper even did the one about the man with a hook for a hand though no one was too impressed.

The bonfire was hypnotizing Norman as Dipper spoke. He stared into it's warm depths and watched it breathe deep in the wind. Even though his gaze was down he could still see Dipper's face. The last group at the bonfire had gone back inside not too long ago. The moon was full and he could see into the trees surrounding the Shack, too. The shadow of the totem was sneaking closer to the fire pit. Somehow the two of them staring into the blaze was almost too intimate. Alone together late into the night watching the fire descend to red hot embers. He shut his eyes for a second and saw part that of his dream with Dipper covered in strings again. He registered Dipper's voice.

"I'm sorry, what?" Norman blinked and looked up.

"I asked if we should stoke the fire? Or should we turn in?" Dipper asked.

The house was still full of people. They would be giving out the party crown soon.

"Yeah, put another log on. Im not tired yet."

Dipper threw a log on the fire and noticed a bag nearby. "Mabel left the marshmallows out." He brought it over to the fire.

"Ill make you one." Norman suggested. He moved a log closer to Dipper. "I want to make one but, I don't want to eat one."

"Okay. I trust you not to burn it." Dipper teased.

"Hey now, I make the best golden brown marshmallows."

"Ha! Well, Prove it." Dipper crossed his arms, "Put your money where my mouth is."

Norman stuck the marshmallow on a skewer with precision. He then stuck the end of the stick in the ground near the fire.

"Hey thats cheating." Dipper laughed.

"No. Its being resourceful." Norman piled dirt around the stick's base. He turned the stick a few times in the dirt. The marshmallow came away golden. Having a marshmallow to bake was taking his mind away from his dream. That was nice.

"Done! You want a graham cracker?" He held up the marshmallow for Dipper to inspect.

"Nah, just plop it right in. " He opened his mouth and leaned around the fire toward the stick.

Norman was paralyzed with confusion.

Dipper laughed after a long still moment and reached for the stick. He wrapped his fingers around Norman's and pulled the stick over to his mouth. He popped the marshmallow in what he hoped was a casual, cool way and let go of the stick.

Norman was still frozen. Norman knew he froze. He tried to say something to dissolve the tension he had made."Do you want another marshmallow?" was what came out of his mouth.

Dipper laughed. More relieved than anything. "Yeah."

Norman didn't even remember making the second one. He didn't register Dipper's eyes on him the whole time either. He cooked the marshmallow to golden goodness again. Dipper scooted closer to inspect it. "Hm. Perfect again."

Norman lifted the stick up in offering. Dipper leaned forward opened his mouth and took the the marshmallow in one bite. Norman blushed hard. He turned to hide his face and put another mallow on the skewer. He glanced up at Dipper. Dipper smiled while chewing. Norman didn't pay as much attention to this marshmallow. It was probably half done or burnt. It might still be on fire. He didn't notice because Dipper scooted closer to him. Their sides and shoulders were touching as they leaned over the fire. Norman lifted the well done puff up. Dipper opened his mouth wide to catch it. Norman would never get used to that. He wanted to make marshmallows all night. But, when he reached into the bag there was only one left. He put it on the stick. "Last one. "

"Oh, let me make you one." Dipper took the skewer from Norman.

Norman watched him work to take his mind away from the picture it had captured of Dipper looking so good with his mouth open. He breathed deep and made himself watch the marshmallow.

Dipper made a pretty good marshmallow. A little crispier than Norman's masterpieces. But, it still looked good. He held it up for Norman to inspect. Norman reached for the stick. Dipper held it back with a 'tsk' noise. Norman opened his mouth thinking how stupid he must look. He bit the marshmallow anyway. It only came halfway off the stick and dripped down his chin.

He tried to wipe at it with his hand. He mumbled a sad, "Oh no," with a mouthful of goo.

Dipper pitched toward him saying, "I got it." And placed his lips on Normans chin.

"Oh . . ." was all Norman could manage to say. His stomach felt like a bottomless pit into which his heart was falling.

Dipper didn't lean back all the way. Keeping his eyes on the ground he wiped at his lips. He seemed insecure about his actions now. "Um?" He looked up at Norman.

Norman, heart racing, said the first thing that came to mind; "Did you get it all?"

Dipper tried to restrain his smile. "Well, there's still a little here." He touched the edge of Norman's lips with his thumb, leaving his hand lingering. Norman leaned into the touch. Dipper kissed him on that side of his mouth. Dipper didn't lean away after the kiss. He paused with his lips a millimeter away from Norman's skin. He opened his eyes to see Norman's reaction.

Norman hadn't reopened his eyes. He knew Dipper was still there. He turned his face to kiss Dipper full on the mouth this time. He turned his shoulder sideways so Dipper wouldn't have to lean in so far and rested one hand on the log relieved to feel it under his had. It was rough and gritty under his hand. So, this was real life.

A commotion erupted in the house. Someone must have won the party crown. Dipper and Norman didn't care. Norman was intent on exploring every hill and valley of Dipper's lips with his own and his tongue. Every soft movement was new and exciting. Dipper brought his hand to Norman's hip. Norman was grasping the side of Dipper's shirt with his free hand. Every good memory Norman had paled in comparison to this blissful moment. The commotion inside the house moved outside.

They lurched away from each other, both too shy to share this moment with a crowd.

"I let you win this time," Pacifica teased. She and Mabel led the crowd back out to the bonfire.

"Oh, Pacifica you don't have to lie to be friends with me." Mabel put her arm around the girl and they laughed. People started sitting around the bonfire. Mabel noted how close Dipper and Norman were sitting with all these empty seats around them. "What have you two been up to out here?" She feigned ignorance.

"Enjoying the peace and quiet." Dipper shot back.

"Well, join in the celebration, my peasants." Mabel laughed arm still over Pacifica. Pacifica was trying to hide her amusement. "For, I am your party queen."

"Yes, your highness. Oh, I almost forgot." Dipper stood. "Norman, I think we need to, uh, put that table away?"


	14. Get a Room, You Two!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Locating your hands is a good way of becoming aware of when you are dreaming. You can start lucid dreaming by doing so. Alternatively try to read words or numbers.

Stan's old Diablo had just disappeared behind the trees when Mabel shouted, "Dibs on Stan's room!" and ran for the house.

"Eh, you can have it!" Dipper shouted at her. "It smells like mothballs and old man cologne."

Dipper returned to the Attic room to find it already half empty. Mabel was trying to move her bed by herself. 

"Wow, don't go down the stairs like that!" Dipper grabbed the other end of the mattress for her.

"If it falls it won't hurt me. It a squishy mattress, Dip!"

"A heavy squishy mattress." They plopped the mattress down in Stan's old room. already filled with Mabel's stuff. It smelled less like old people already.

"Too many beds." Mabel looked around. 

"I'll take that bed. I'm too tall for the twin mattress anyway." While Dipper spoke mabel brought her hands up to cover her mouth and stared at him. "We can put that in the extra room and have a guest bed."

Mabel smiled over her hands with an evil glint in her eye. "Norman won't want that room? He can have his own room now."

"Maybe you can use it for your sleepovers; Which you seem to think you're never too old for." Dipper looked over at her, finally seeing her strange expression. "What!"

"You don't seem to be too old for sleepovers; If you know what I mean." She goaded. 

Dipper turned pink. "I will be taking this mattress now." He pulled the bed from the room. He even managed to make it up the stairs with it by himself. He started pulling out his old bed when Norman appeared on the stairs.

"Need a hand?" He grabbed the mattress without waiting for an answer. "So, you're moving into the spare room?"

"Oh, no." Dipper stated with his face pressed into the mattress.

Norman looked confused. "Am I moving to the spare room?" He asked looking around the side of the mattress.

"No!" Dipper sat the mattress in the spare room upright. "I mean, you can if you want. But, I just thought you'd want to stay up in the attic room with me?"

Norman didn't get the implication. "Then, who's bed is this?" He pointed at the mattress.

"It was mine." Dipper started up the stairs. Norman followed. "Now it's a guest bed. Mabel took her bed to Stan's room -old room- and I took Stan's bed." Dipper sat on his new bed to show it off.

"Oh," was all Norman said. He started to tidy up some of the mess mabel left behind.

"So, do you want to stay in this room with me?" Dipper pulled his legs up on the bed. Norman didn't turn around or say anything for a long moment.

"You mean, I should probably put my bed in the spare room, too." He turned around, "Right?"

"If you want to." Dipper swallowed his fear, "We could share this one."

Norman smiled hesitant. "I'd like that."

Dipper smiled. "Well," He laid back on his bed. "I should make sure this bed isn't junk first." Norman walked over to him. Dipper rolled around a bit. "Hmm," He considered, and squirmed around some more on the bed. "Hmmmm." He sat up and wrapped his arms around Norman's hips tugging him down onto the bed. He rolled Norman over to lay on his back beside him. Arms still wrapped around him. He planted a kiss on Norman's cheek. "Yeah, its a pretty good mattress. I think we can get rid of yours."

Mabel walked past. "Wow. I moved out five minutes ago." She grabbed an armload of sweaters and dresses from the closet and left. 

Neither of the boys moved. 

"Help me move my bed?" Norman asked.

"I think we need to compare the two. Gotta make sure we're getting a good deal." Dipper stood up, arms still wrapped around Norman and plopped them both down on the other bed. He hit his own head on the wall. The bed was much to small for them both these days. He rolled over Norman and planted a kiss on his other cheek. "Hmm," Dipper pretended to consider this mattress that they barely fit on. His nose pressed into Norman's cheek.

"You remember when we both fit on here?" Norman laughed.

Mabel walked back in to grab another armful of clothes. "I'd tell you to get a room but. . ." She quipped and left again. Dipper laughed unembarrassed. 

Norman turned his head over and whispered in Dipper's ear, "I can't wait till she goes to bed." 

The words rendered Dipper inert. He turned redder than he ever had before. They had only been dating two weeks. He was thinking about maybe getting to second base. He knew that sharing a bed insinuated something else. His arrested movement did not go unnoticed by Norman. 

"So, we can make-out." Norman finished. "Don't get ahead of yourself."

Dipper breathed deep and looked over at him. "I almost had a heart attack when you said that."

"It's okay. We should move slow, don't you think?"

Dipper nodded.

Norman patted the mattress. "Let's bring this downstairs."

That night Norman dreamed about everything wrapped in string. Again. More than confuse this dream was starting to bore him. He walked though that forest with Dipper looking for their treasure. Lines descended from the sky and toward Dipper's arms and legs. Strings tied him to trees, and back to Mabel. Two strings extended toward himself. One white and one red. When he reached for them his hands felt far away and he fell backwards into his body. 

Unlike last night Norman could calm himself down easy. He pulled Dipper closer and breathed him in. He memorized the way the little hairs curled on the back of Dipper's neck until he drifted off into a more peaceful slumber.

* * *

  
As it turned out, going to sleep in the same bed was not the best part of their new room arrangement; Waking up in the same bed was the best part. When Norman woke it was with slow appreciation for Dipper's skin under his hands. He woke feeling divine. He dared to move and press his lips to Dipper's neck. Dipper rolled over smiling. They spent half an hour kissing and mumbling about stuff.

"Did you have any cool dreams?" Dipper asked as he appreciated Norman's stomach with his fingers.

Norman thought he saw one of the strings from his dream pulling at Dipper from his head. He reached out for it but it was just a sider web. "Yeah, actually I keep dreaming about that day I met you. Except you're always covered in strings, like cobwebs." He considered that this was part of his dream. But, there was his hand attached to his body and holding the cobweb. That was a sure sign he was awake.

"Creepy." Dipper looked concerned at the cobweb Norman had grabbed.

"PANCAKES!" Mabel called from downstairs. "You sleepy-heads slept until 10! It's time to open up shop. Go unlock the door and I'll bring you breakfast."  
Norman threw on some clothes to go man the cash register. Dipper took his time. He had to wear the Mystery Man outfit Mabel had organized for him. He was the tour guide today. 

Norman had to unlock the door and let Wendy in. If, she was on time. Which she never was. He unpacked some bumper stickers and wiped down the windows. Wendy came in and put her lunch under the register.

"You're practically early today!" Norman commented.

"Hey now young man." Wendy joked, "I've been here longer than you and that makes me your boss. Now clean those windows." She put her feet up on the counter and pretended to drink out of a display mug. 

Norman snorted but continued cleaning. "When do you go back to school Wendy?"

"Ah, tryin' to steal my job, eh?" She counted out the money in the drawer. "You got three more weeks under my tyranny. Oh lookin' fly Sir Dippingsauce."

Norman turned away from the window. Dipper had come downstairs, finally. His discomfort with his outfit was apparent. "That's Mr. Mystery to you." He was wearing a fitted navy 3 piece suit without a coat. A thin tie, spats, and a silver question mark pin complimented the outfit. He placed the black fez mabel had crafted on his head. He looked over at Norman for approval.

Wendy whistled in appreciation. "Well, I can see how Mabel got that fashion apprenticeship." She followed his gaze over to Norman.

Norman was holding his cleaning rag at window height, but in the wrong direction. He was clutching the spray bottle close and staring slack-jawed at Dipper. He regretted the talk they had about 'going slow.'

"Mabel gave me this fake goatee but I think it makes me look like a sleazy car salesman." He held up a scrap of hair to his chin

Wendy leaned over to Norman. "Here Norm, you dropped this." She bopped his chin. His mouth closed with a loud CLOP sound. 

Norman blurted, "Mabel did a good job." His ears were hot. 

Dipper laughed, nerves dissipating. 

"Yes, she did!" Mabel agreed as she came though the employee door burdened with pancakes and a pamphlet in her hand. "You should see the one she made for herself. Which she will be wearing tomorrow!" She handed pancakes to Norman and Dipper. "Don't get any on your suit. Look what came in the mail guys." She held the pamphlet out for Dipper and Norman to see. "Isn't that funny. It's that camp we all became buds at. But, it's got this bad printer error." She laughed. The words on the pamphlet looked like letters but, they were blurry and unintelligible.

Norman snatched the pamphlet. No one missed his terrified gaze.

"Normy?" Mabel looked personally affronted.

"This. This was in my-" dream, he thought at first. But, that wasn't right, was it? "Bill." he whispered. His palms sweat on the paper as he ripped it up. "Bill sent this."

Mabel stepped between the boys and Wendy. She didn't need to worry about this.

"Hey," Dipper grabbed his hands to stop him from completely destroying the paper. "We will figure this out. Don't panic. We've beat him before we can do it again." Dipper pulled him into a quick hug. 

When they broke apart Norman thought he saw some cobwebs glinting between them. He pocketed the pamphlet.


	15. Gaslight is Not as Romantic as Candlelight

"Norman, I think you've dusted everything," Mabel told him. He had tried to rid the entire Mystery Shack of cobwebs. "Maybe, sweep or something?"

"Yeah," Norman wiped some of the sweat from his face. "I've just been seeing a lot of cobwebs lately.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "You been sleeping okay?"

"This was actually the first full night of sleep I've had in a few weeks."

"If you need to take a nap just go do it." She leaned in and whispered, "If the place looks too clean people get suspicious of the exhibits."

Norman watched Dipper while he worked all day. After closing time, Norman hunted Dipper down in the museum. He was trying to put a two faced toad back on it's stand. It wobbled and fell over again.

"I think it needs some glue." He said to Norman when he walked up.

"We need to talk." Norman stated.

"Wow." Dipper dropped the toad. It rolled a few feet away. "You don't have to stay in the room. It's okay. You- you can have that spare room if you-" 

"No, no." Norman stopped him before he panicked to death. "Not about that. I - I think Bill has been orchestrating our lives. I've been having those dreams."

Dipper calmed down. He picked up the toad from the ground. "You've had that dream more than once?"

"I've had it every night since I fought him out of my mind. I keep seeing you bump into me for the first time but I think the strings are there pulling you. I think he's been making you and Mabel like me just to bring me here." He took in the implications of the words. His chest felt like it was imploding.

Dipper sat the Toad down on the stand sideways. He grabbed Norman's shoulders. "Norman." He bend down to look him in the eyes. "Mabel and I are your best friends, I swear it. Of our own free will we asked you to be a part of this. Bill is a dream demon. He is making you question these things while you sleep so that when you wake up you won't know what is real."

Worries poured out of Norman, "What if we defeat him and you don't like me anymore?"

"I promise you that I will never let that happen." Dipper assured him. 

"What if I'm dreaming right now." Norman pulled out the pamphlet as evidence.

"That's a misprint. Can you read that?" Dipper pointed to the plaque underneath the sideways toad. 

"Two-Toad. Is it two toads or one? This baffling creature-" Norman read.

Dipper gripped Norman's shoulders again "You're not dreaming. He's messing with your head."

Norman nodded.

Dipper bit back some words before continuing, "You're stronger than him. He might still be in there, but you've pushed him down. I'll find a way to get him out." Dipper pressed a kiss to Norman's forehead and let him go. 

* * *

 

"Okay." Dipper sat on the counter.

Norman stirred the lasagne noodles he'd been making. "Yeah?"

"I know how to get rid of him." Dipper stated. "But I can't tell you how or why because he might hear me. So, you're just gonna have to trust me. Okay?"

Norman stopped stirring the noodles. "Uh, I trust you but-"

"Mabel will be helping." Dipper interrupted before Norman could ask any questions that might give anything away.

Norman nodded slowly. "Lasagne for dinner."

Dipper hopped off the counter and kissed him on the cheek. "Do you need any help?"

* * *

 

That night while Norman slept Dipper slid out of bed. He opened the bedroom door to let Mabel in. They both sat on either side of Norman. Dipper recited the words that would lead them into Norman's mindscape.

They found themselves sitting on a small bed in a small room. Zombie posters covered 3/4 of the walls. 

"Is this Norman's room?" Mabel squeaked. "Oh, that is so cute."

"We need to find where he keeps the memory of when we first met." Dipper reminded her.

She got up off the bed to coo at Norman's stuff.

Dipper checked the only door in the room. It lead to a hall with four other doors. The family photos on the wall moved. He looked into one. A child Norman and his parents, who Dipper had only met once were walking around a zoo. A girl in a pink dress followed behind. That must be his sister, Dipper thought. Other photos in the hall had with similar memories inside. 

He checked inside the next door in the hallway. This room held many objects that seemed to move like the photos. But, they all looked like they belonged to his sister. No help there. The next room was Norman's parents and the last was a spare room that looked grayer than the rest. A few things had movement inside them but nothing seemed helpful. Mabel squeed from Norman's room. 

"What're you doing?" Dipper called.

"Nothing!" She sing-songed back. 

When he went back in the room she dropped a book and slid it under the bed with her foot.

"Were you reading his diary?"

"The important question is," Mabel stood up eyes bright, "Do I know where to find that memory?"

"Did you learn that by reading his diary?" Dipper chided.

Mabel couldn't hold back anymore. "You held his hand when you were little," She teased.

Dipper had almost forgotten that.

"He liked it." She sang and skipped out of the room. 

Norman had a crush on him that long? Lost in thought Dipper followed Mabel downstairs and to the front door of the house. He brought himself back to the present moment. "You shouldn't've read his diary."

Mabel was going through a stack of mail ignoring him. The Babcock family kept their mail in a quaint little box by the door. She pulled the pamphlet from their summer camp. "Here we go." When she opened it to look inside she disappeared. 

Dipper caught the pamphlet as it fell to the floor and opened it to follow her inside.

* * *

 

Dipper watched Norman and a younger version of himself walking away from him. He and Norman swished though the dead leaves littering the ground. Seeing a smaller version of himself would have weirded him out but, the tiny strings that ran to and from every direction had him distracted. The forest looked like a messy spider's web.

"Look it's little me!" Mabel called from somewhere behind him. He turned to see Mabel and her band of followers hoisting Dipper and Norman in the air in triumph. They existed in both places at once. Mabel ran through the strings and didn't even phase them. Dipper tried to pull on one. His hand went right through it.

"I don't think they're real." Mabel attested.

"Where do they all go?" Dipper looked around for a pattern. Strings went in every direction but, inevitably they all went up.

He looked into the sky and squawked, frightened. Bill's eye filled the sky. It was barely visible behind the haze of strings.

Mabel followed his gaze. "You!" She pointed.

"Oh, Shooting Star, Pine Tree! So nice of you to join us!" Bill's voice boomed down.

"I want all these strings GONE." Mabel bellowed. Every string but one disappeared. No one was looking down to see which. "You quit messing with this boy's head or so help me." Mabel shook her fist at the sky.

A quiet voice came from Dipper's side. "Hey." Full grown Norman stood beside him. There were no other Norman's around. "Are you real?"

"Yeah," Dipper smiled. 

"How did you get in my dream?"

"Oh, we maybe invaded your mindscape to get Bill out."

"How?"

"Questionable incantations," Dipper shrugged. "Mabel's your Deus Ex. I'm just here for support."

Mabel was imagining Bill trapped in a tiny plastic ball. He dropped down by her feet. She picked him up. "I'm kicking you out of here!" She drop kicked the ball into the sky. She turned to Norman. "He should be out of your dreams. Let's get out of here." An escalator came down from the sky to help them out.

This strange turn of events didn't even phase Norman. He took Dipper's hand and joined them on the escalator out. "Thanks."

"Eh, this ain't my first rodeo." Mabel smirked.

"Don't thank her yet." Dipper said. "She read your diary."

* * *

 

Norman intended to be mad. But, he woke up with both of the Pines twins hugging him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took a while to get out. I've been busy! This is all I have written so far. We'll see if anything comes next?


End file.
